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According to the Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation Report, in 2022, the global timber market entered a period of slowing demand, with timber prices in many regions experiencing sharp rises and falls. How to survive in challenging market and macroeconomic conditions has become a major challenge for global timber traders.

For Europe, as for the events in Russia and Ukraine, Europe rejected timber supplies from Russia. Although Russia can transfer timber to regions such as China, Central Asia, and the Middle East, transportation issues have hindered the greater supply of Russian timber to non European regions. Johan Freij, a senior forestry expert at Dansk Bank in Sweden, believes that because of this, the Chinese market is increasingly purchasing timber from Europe, although this is only temporary. Huacheng Import and Export Data Watch reports.

However, in fact, in Europe, supply is beginning to shrink, and if the subsequent demand in the Chinese market continues to increase, it is likely to push up subsequent timber prices. According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, Swedish wood prices were experiencing a significant decline in the first two quarters of last year. After the autumn, Swedish wood prices are beginning to rise sharply. However, this is not due to an increase in demand, but rather to a decrease in the supply of Swedish timber.

Looking back at the timber market in Sweden last year, Johan Freij, a senior forestry expert at Dansk Bank, Sweden, said, "There are many signs that the timber market at that time had bottomed out, and we do not believe that there will be a typical economic reversal in timber prices. Construction in most parts of the world is also declining, so demand has also declined." Just as in the previous period of low prices in the Swedish timber market, Egypt and China saved the Swedish timber market, In addition, the United States provided sawmills with confidence to increase prices when inventories decreased. In 2022, the United States adopted a policy of increasing imports into the Swedish wood market.

According to Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation, in 2022, during a period of free fall in Swedish wood prices, the United States increased its imports of wood from Sweden and became the most important export market for wood products in Sweden, second only to the United Kingdom. This has reduced some losses in the Swedish timber market, at least as prices are cautiously rising. The Swedish timber market is a microcosm of the European timber market. The difficult year of 2022 has passed, but the unfavorable global timber market conditions still trigger price fluctuations in the European timber market and a reduction in temporary factory capacity, further disrupting the timber supply chain. Huacheng Import and Export Data Observation reports.